Chapter 124: Clubs (2)

After finishing the establishment of the Meditation Club, Il-mok headed straight to the Black Dragon Hall to rest.

As for the trio he’d strong-armed into joining, they parted ways with him and wandered off.

Just as the once-quiet clearing had served as Il-mok's hideout, the trio also had a place where they usually spent time together.

They were heading there to vent their frustrations about being forcibly enrolled in the Meditation Club by Il-mok, but soon tilted their heads in confusion.

There was already someone there.

"Gwak Sul?"

“What are you doing here?”

It was Gwak Sul, the poor guy who’d been stuck as Dokgo Pae’s sidekick for nearly two months.

At their questions, Gwak Sul cracked a conspiratorial smile.

"I was waiting for you all."

"???"

"For us?"

Ignoring their bafflement, Gwak Sul brought up an unexpected topic.

“You know the sixth test is tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

"Then, how about joining forces with us for tomorrow's test?"

"Join forces?"

"The teams haven't even been announced yet, so what's the point of forming teams in advance?"

“If we move out of the groups, the instructors mark us with poor evaluations.”

As they shot down his weird proposal, the corners of Gwak Sul’s mouth pulled into a wide grin.

However, his eyes weren't smiling at all.

“Forget about grades. That’s not what this is about. Don’t you want revenge?”

"Revenge? What revenge?"

"On Young Master Il-mok."

"!!!"

While the trio wore shocked expressions, Gwak Sul laid out the bait.

“I heard what happened. He dragged you off and forced you into his weird club, right? Don’t you want a little payback?”

The trio’s eyes shifted nervously.

'Damn it.'

'Okay, we started it, but he went too far this time.'

'Yeah. Just this once…'

It wasn't enough that he used them as human shields to block the instructors' view during training sessions, and now he’d forced them into his club.

Even if they had been the ones to pick a fight from day one, they felt this was a bit much.

Still, they hesitated.

"Don't you know Young Master Il-mok's skills?"

“You really think we can get him, even together?”

It had been a full six months since the three of them had jumped him and failed miserably. They’d gotten better since then, but Il-mok’s skills had shot up to a whole other level.

Gwak Sul nodded as if he understood completely.

"It wouldn't be easy with just the four of us. However, this time Dokgo Pae will also join us."

"Dokgo Pae?"

“The wild boar who does nothing but charge at Young Master Il-mok by himself? It's hard to believe that Dokgo Pae would participate in a group attack."

“Don’t worry about that. I managed to convince him.”

In truth, his “convincing” hadn't been anything special.

He’d just hit Dokgo Pae with a hard truth: fighting alone will only result in him losing again without being able to even exchange a few moves.

And he had deceived him by saying that the group attack was merely a foundation for the future.

Then, he had pitched the team attack as a stepping stone for the future. He’d spun some twisted logic about how they could use the team fight to memorize Il-mok’s techniques, then build up their own skills to fight him one-on-one later.

Even a blockhead like Dokgo Pae sensed something was off.

—Didn’t you tell me that you would leave all the thinking to me?

After dealing with Dokgo Pae for two months, Gwak Sul had developed a spine of steel and pushed ahead forcefully.

And that resolute attitude he had shown to Dokgo Pae was now being displayed toward the trio without reservation.

"Of course, even with Dokgo Pae joining us, there’s no guarantee that five of us can take down Gwando Il-mok. But…”

Gwak Sul paused, and the trio’s gazes were fixed on his face.

With their attention drawn, he finished his sentence with a smirk.

“If you keep holding back just because you’re not certain, you’ll spend the rest of your lives getting pushed around.”

Instantly, the image of being pushed around by Il-mok until graduation from the Hall of the Demonic Way appeared in the trio's minds.

“Ugh.”

"We'll... join you."

The trio thought this was their only opportunity, but soon a question arose in Mun Gyu's mind.

“But setting us aside, Gwak Sul, why are you targeting Young Master Il-mok?"

It would make sense if he were targeting Dokgo Pae instead.

Mun Gyu wisely swallowed the second half of that thought.

Gwak Sul answered with another smile.

"I, too, am doing this for revenge."

What revenge? The question swirled in the trio's heads, but they couldn't bring themselves to ask.

Unlike his smiling mouth, his eyes were completely filled with poison and resentment.

'If it weren’t for Young Master Il-mok!!'

For over two months, he had been tormented by two crazy boars who had no interest in anything but sparring and training.

It had been more than enough time for him to cultivate a deep-seated grudge against Il-mok, the root cause of all his suffering.

Never mind that Il-mok had only told Dokgo Pae to ‘use his head,’ not to go torture Gwak Sul.

But to Gwak Sul, that didn't matter.

To Gwak Sul, that was an irrelevant detail.

His tormentor, Dokgo Pae, was routinely thrashed by Il-mok in every exam and spar anyway, so that was satisfying enough. But what really got to him was seeing the root of all his suffering get off scot-free.

So he’d decided to team up with his own bully to take down their common enemy. It helped that they shared the same target.

The side effect of Gwak Sul’s Demonic Art was supposed to be an anxiety disorder, but months of torment had warped it into a textbook case of Stockholm syndrome.

***

A short walk through the woods later…

"Damn it."

A curse slipped from my lips.

"I did return early using the test as an excuse, but I didn't know the test would be the very next day."

I didn't even get to enjoy the club time I'd been looking forward to, thanks to the exam being scheduled for the day after its founding.

Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was draw my sword.

Because the side effect felt like it was spring-loaded, ready to pop at any second.

'I am not some rapid response team.'

The thought dredged up unpleasant memories of his military service from his past life as Seo Ji-hoon.

Back in the infirmary, the slightest poke from his Master or his Eldest Brother was enough to get his mouth running. He couldn’t even guess how crazy he’d get if he drew his sword.

The only good news was that this exam was an individual combat.

He walked along the mountain path, telling himself he was just out for a stroll.

Strangely, no other cadets appeared around him.

Just as he was starting to feel puzzled…

"Huh."

A cadet spotted him first from the distant bushes and immediately bolted away in the opposite direction at full speed.

Only then could he understand the situation.

'They're reacting like they've just seen a tiger in the mountains.'

All the students were avoiding him.

When he thought about it, it made sense. The skill gap between him and the others was huge, so of course they’d want to face him as late as possible.

'This works for me.'

Since he was already worried about the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, he decided not to chase after them.

Instead, he found a nice, shady spot.

"Hmm."

The idea of sitting his butt on the ground felt a little unclean, so he took out a piece of cloth he’d brought just in case and spread it on the ground.

Then, after sitting cross-legged on it.

“Good thing I brought this, too.”

He took out a flask he’d packed and poured some of the liquid into his hand.

The cool sensation of the disinfectant alcohol evaporating from his hands and its smell cleansed his mind.

***

While Il-mok was leisurely enjoying his meditation, elsewhere…

Bang!

A fierce battle was raging far away from him.

Bang Mi-hwa’s clothes were dirty and her hair was a mess, but she still managed to cover the lower half of her face with her fan. “I never thought you’d resort to such cheap tactics, Dokgo Pae!”

While Dokgo Pae's face reddened at her outcry, Gwak Sul opened his mouth instead.

"Aren’t you also with Disciple Ha? Seems like the pot calling the kettle black to me."

She had been working together with Ha Young as usual, even though it was individual combat. But she never imagined five people would form a group to hunt them down.

"Vice President Dokgo. Our main target is still Young Master Il-mok. These are just obstacles in our path, so please finish this quickly."

Dokgo Pae, who had entrusted all the thinking to him, nodded once and raised his great sword.

"Let's have a proper duel next time. For now, just give up, Bang Mi-hwa.”

***

"Haaah."

How long had he been resting leisurely in the shade?

“Things have probably settled by now, right?"

Il-mok, who had muttered to himself, got up and looked at the cloth he had been sitting on and crushing with his buttocks.

'Should I take this with me?'

After pondering for a moment, he picked up the cloth with his fingertips and carefully tied it to his outer robe, making sure it wouldn't touch his skin.

He then cleansed his hands with another splash of rubbing alcohol before setting off at a leisurely pace, tracking the signs of battle through the mountain. It wasn't long before he found them.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

No sooner had the words left Il-mok’s mouth than five figures burst from the surrounding bushes, surrounding him.

"Since when did the test become a group activity?"

To Il-mok's question, Gwak Sul opened his mouth again.

"Given your skill, Young Master, it’s natural that we would team up against you. You know what they say: the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”

While Il-mok let out a hollow laugh at that bold answer.

The trio, who quickly exchanged glances with Gwak Sul, nodded.

Swoosh!

Simultaneously, they occupied three directions and charged at Il-mok.

They attacked from three sides at once. Choi Woong came at Il-mok from the front with his saber, Seong Hwan jabbed with his spear from the left to limit Il-mok’s movements, and Mun Gyu charged at his back.

'Whew.'

Taking a deep breath, Il-mok drew his sword in a flash.

Clang!

It was an incredible feat. With a single swing, he simultaneously parried the saber and spear from the front and left, while also deflecting Mun Gyu’s advance from behind.

But just as the trio was pushed back, as if waiting for that very moment, Dokgo Pae charged in, swinging his greatsword.

Clang!

Dokgo Pae and the trio alternately swung their weapons in coordinated attacks, and whenever the movements of the four became clumsy or misaligned, Gwak Sul moved at the right time to act as a lubricant.

Thanks to Gwak Sul’s clever spear work, their five-man team attack flowed with surprising synergy. After holding them off for a short while, Il-mok’s expression began to darken.

"Shut up!"

"!?"

The five of them stared in confusion at his sudden outburst.

"Keep pressing the attack!"

With Gwak Sul's urgent command, the other four snapped out of it and renewed their assault.

Beads of sweat were already flowing down Il-mok's forehead as he blocked their offensive.

It wasn't because their coordinated attack was too fierce. And the shout to shut up from earlier hadn't been directed at those five either.

—Too slow.

—If you’re going to swing a sword like that, why not just let me take over?

—I’ll show you what real swordsmanship looks like. Heh heh heh.

Il-mok couldn't properly concentrate on the fight because he was battling another self from the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword that kept spouting nonsense in his brain.

Seeing Il-mok sweating and struggling to block and evade, the faces of the trio lit up.

'Now's our chance!'

'The coordinated attack is working!'

'Finally, revenge!!'

A smile had also crept onto the lips of Gwak Sul, who was orchestrating the entire battle. An opportunity to land a blow on the formidable Young Master Il-mok.

'Who would have known that commanding people could be so much fun?'

He found this situation extremely enjoyable.

Among them, only Dokgo Pae wore a somewhat sullen expression.

Thus, the five—no, six, including the other self—continued their coordinated attack, pushing Il-mok back for a while.

Clang!

Right after Il-mok blocked Seong Hwan's spear.

"Haaah!"

Dokgo Pae’s greatsword came flying in as if to slice Il-mok in two.

Il-mok scrambled backward, but he was a split second too late.

The greatsword didn't hit him.

Boom!!!

The greatsword that he barely dodged struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt that splattered all over Il-mok’s body and clothes.

As Gwak Sul, Choi Woong, and Mun Gyu charged toward Il-mok in succession.

"......."

For some reason, Il-mok just stood there, staring blankly at the dirt staining his body.

Thinking this was their chance, the trio swung their weapons at Il-mok.

Clang!!

With a strange metallic ring, their weapons were all deflected.

It was bizarre. They hadn't even seen his sword move, yet their weapons were knocked away, leaving shimmering silver trails in the air.

As the three of them stumbled back from the monstrous technique…

"Hehehe."

A cold smile had replaced the flustered look on Il-mok’s face.

"Ah. This cool and heavy sensation. It's been truly a long time."

Il-mok, who muttered while looking down at the sword in his right hand, raised his head and swept his gaze over the five surrounding him.

“It has been an age of humiliation and persecution. I was sick of it, so for that, I thank you.”

With those words, Il-mok's other self swung the sword.

Or rather, the five of them saw no swing at all.

The process was gone, and their vision was filled only with the result: the mesmerizing, silver arcs.

As they stared, transfixed by the dazzling trails that contained countless enlightenments, Choi Woong, Seong Hwan, and Mun Gyu all had very similar thoughts.

'We’re the ones who’ve been suffering humiliation and persecution!'

'If you’re so grateful, why are you swinging your sword at us…'

'We should have just stayed crouched down...'